Fill Your Table (Without Cooking More) + Rosemary Dinner Rolls

Dear friend,

I feel so good. (Please remind me I said this in February.) I hope you feel good today too. Do you have anything at hand right now that’s making you feel good? Are your socks squishy and warm? Do you have a fire in the fireplace (the first of many this season, I’m sure)? Maybe you’ve got clean sheets on your bed. Or you’ve rearranged some furniture in an extra cozy way for months ahead. Did you get a text from a friend today? Or gather acorns on your morning walk?

I got my nails done yesterday and they’re a shiny violet color. That’s making me happy.

I also have a cup of warm chai at my right hand. Creamy and sweet and spicy. How lovely.

It’s also Friday — a lovely day on all accounts. I’ll put in time at the computer still this morning… time to post, answer, share, and engage… before stepping away for the weekend. This weekend I’ve got big, important plans.

I’ve got to plant my garlic and shallots. Gather some rosehips. Bake sourdough. Rake leaves. String up some garlands around the house.

(Like I said. Big, important plans.)

But before I sign off for the weekend, I wanted to share our latest video with you all — it’s on creating abundance in your kitchen and on your table, without actually doing any more cooking. That way, your supper table can still feel full, even if you want to spend the majority of Saturday out in your garden, basking in the final rays of golden light before the sun turns its predictable shade of winter blue.

Watch this week’s new video: how to fill your table without cooking more.

This video is more than a recipe, and we spend a bit more time in the dining room than in the kitchen, but I hope the principles are ones that will actually be a blessing to you (the hostess) and to those at your table (your family, your guests, yourself).

You’ll see in the video that after I prepared supper for the crew (I didn’t know how many kids would end up at the table), it ended up just being our immediate family. We wined (affiliate link) and dined ourselves for a good long while — cracking pecans, mopping up our bowls with bite size pieces of the rosemary dinner rolls we make together, and catching up on each other’s day. We’re at a funny stage of life now — the kids will often talk amongst themselves, chatting it up, singing, telling stories, reciting poetry, and (yes) bickering. Stuart and I often find ourselves sitting in silence, watching the show as spectators, side-eyeing one another on occasion and wondering how it is that our family has grown up so quickly.

Georgia got a job at a local cafe. Tomorrow night she’ll miss family supper.

The times, they are a changing.

But I am still happy and life is still so blessed, so good. As you see in the video, there is abundance on the table. The pecans were sent up from Texas, a thank you gift from my friend Holly. The pears are from our friend’s orchard. The burrata is from Costco. The lamb from our own sheep. Each plate is a gift and each person who finds themselves at our table is also. Sure, they change and morph with the seasons just like we do. All that’s left to do is do right with what we’ve been given and serve these beautiful people we’re surrounded with well. I guess that’s the heart of the video this week.

Side-note: you can find the recipe for the rosemary dinner rolls we make together right here, at the bottom of this post. These are about as simple of a homemade bread as you could hope for. If you want to learn a bit more about the master dough that I use to make this bread (and many others), you can watch my free workshop right here. It’s for old and new bakers alike. I still make this dough in many forms, all the time.

On another note…

THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for all of the support you showered over me following Tuesday’s announcement. This book is alive to me. It’s already living alongside me. Much like when I was pregnant with my babies, even though I didn’t know them yet, I knew them. They were a full life. A treasure. A calling. Mine. I am grateful that already this book has a home in my heart and in so many of your hearts as well. I look forward to sharing pieces of it as it comes to life!

So that’s all. I feel happy and contented to be in this season. I feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be — writing to you, welcoming you into our home, trusting you with our secrets, and sharing with you our hopes for the future.

I think it will be delicious and beautiful.

If you ever want to explore more recipes like this, I’ve opened up a free 2 weeks trial of The Cooking Community for a limited time. You’re welcome to join in and peek behind the curtain, totally for free, right here.

Ooh — and here’s la ricetta:

Rosemary Dinner Rolls Recipe

Panini al Rosmarino · Rise 1 hr 30 min · Bake 20 min · Oven 375°F

A big ’ol pan full of soft supper rolls, brushed with olive oil and finished with fresh rosemary and salt. This dough is a half batch of my Master Dough: make it right here, or simply use half of a full batch from the base recipe. Though we rarely have leftover rolls, when we do, I cut them in half, add on a nice grainy mustard, and tuck some ham and provolone inside before warming them up in the oven. Delicious!

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 2¼ cups warm water (530 grams)
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast (9 grams)
• 5 cups all-purpose flour (600 grams)
• 3 teaspoons sea salt (18 grams)
• ¼ cup olive oil (54 grams)

For the topping:

• 4 tablespoons olive oil (54 grams)
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

1. Add the warm water to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl. Add in the yeast and whisk to combine. Allow the yeast to hydrate for 10 minutes.
2. Add in the flour, salt, and olive oil. Knead on medium speed for 8 minutes (or by hand). Cover and allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 45 minutes.
3. While the dough rises, preheat the oven to 375°F.
4. Oil a 9x13” baking dish liberally. Working with 125 grams (about ¼ cup) of dough at a time, shape it into a roll by pulling the dough into an oval, folding the edges into the middle, flipping it over, and rolling it in your lightly floured hands a few times. Transfer it to the baking dish and repeat until the dish is full.
5. Cover the rolls gently with a dishcloth and allow them to rise for an additional 45 minutes.
6. Bake the rolls for 15 minutes.
7. Remove the rolls from the oven. Use a pastry brush to generously brush all of the rolls with the olive oil, pouring over any that remains.
8. Return the rolls to the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until deeply golden. Remove the rolls and sprinkle them immediately with the rosemary and salt. Enjoy warm.

Want to learn more about the master dough I use for this bread (and so many others)? Watch my free Master Dough Workshop here.

Love,